CNN poll shows majority approves of Holder contempt vote

posted at 10:01 am on July 9, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

Last week, Eric Holder tried to argue that the effort by the House to hold him in civil and criminal contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with subpoenas for documents related to Operation Fast and Furious was nothing more than a proxy attack on Barack Obama:

“I’ve become a symbol of what they don’t like about the positions this Justice Department has taken,” he said. “I am also a proxy for the president in an election year. You have to be exceedingly naive to think that vote was about . . . documents.”

Well, according to a new poll by CNN of general-population adults, a majority of Americans is … exceedingly naive. They apparently still believe that government officials have to comply with subpoenas just like the rest of the hoi polloi:

Most Americans approve of the decision by the House of Representatives to censure Attorney General Eric Holder, but a new national poll also indicates that a majority of the public thinks that House Republicans are investigating Holder to gain political advantage.

According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Monday morning, 53% of people questioned say they approve of the House vote a week and a half ago to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents related to a controversial program called Operation Fast and Furious, with one in three saying they disapprove of the move and 13% unsure.

More than two-thirds want more answers on the ATF operation that cost the lives of two American law-enforcement officers and hundreds of Mexicans as well:

Nearly seven in 10 say the Obama administration should answer all questions, with 27% agreeing with the move to invoke executive privilege.

The numbers are about the same for Holder and Obama among registered voters. The gap on approval for the contempt citation rises slightly to 54/32 among RVs, while slightly less want Obama to stop hiding behind executive privilege, 32/68 rather than 27/69 in the general population. Independents hit right on the overall split for the Holder contempt citation, 54/33, and a bit stronger on opposition to executive privilege, 25/72. Non-white voters are less convinced but still break toward support for the contempt citation (45/40) and, more clearly, opposition to the assertion of executive privilege in this case (36/59).

Obama also has big problems in two of his core constituencies. Younger voters oppose executive privilege just as strongly as independents, 23/72, and back the contempt citation 58/27, even more strongly than the other two age demos. Low-income voters also support the contempt citation (51/34) and oppose executive privilege (23/72) by wide margins. That’s a danger sign for Obama as he tries to convince the 18-34 crowd that he still represents hope and change. Asserting executive privilege to keep documents from Congressional investigators clearly isn’t going to impress them on that score.

Generally speaking, Americans expect government officials to obey the same laws to which we all are subject. Trying to sell that as “naïveté” has flopped.

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Holder lied and has kept documents from public view. He put into place a program that led to the murder of 2 federal agents and 200 Mexicans and that tried to subvert a Constitutional right of American citizens. His failure to be forthright has found him in a position to be held in contempt of Congress–an outcome that he chose. He should be stripped of his position, disbarred, and tried in a criminal court.

“I am also a proxy for the president in an election year. You have to be exceedingly naive to think that vote was about . . . documents.”

Well no shiite, everyone can figure out this is simply about Holder’s skin color and nothing more. So a couple of American LE officers and 300+ Mexicans get blown away because of a horrifying scheme to subvert the 2nd Amendment, whatever no big deal. But keeping the black man down, now THAT is important stuff.

I would like to remind the AG and any other libs/media/pols that Zero is only half black and any opposition that I have to him is directed solely at his white half. Thus I am not a racist. As for the AG himself, he is one of the smarmiest, slimiest wordsmiths to have ever disgraced your office (nope, don’t see anything in there about race…). The only appropriate punishment for this scum is life in prison in shackles (right hand to left ankle).

Last week, the bloggers who first exposed Operation Fast and Furious, Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea, filed a formal complaint with the Washington, D.C. Office of Bar Counsel alleging that Holder committed “professional misconduct” during the congressional investigation into the scandal.

Gotta agree with Greta. The civil contempt proceedings should have been ready to file the next day. In the real world, where Greta spent some time doing actual lawyering, it would have been or heads would have been rolling. It isn’t rocket science, the initial filings only have to put the administration on notice of the basic nature of the claims, and it ought to be on file already.

People are finally starting to get an inkling of a clue. Wait til they start getting a whiff of “Operation Castaway” and the other ops run under the same F&F tactics of Gun Walking.

Operation Castaway was a much sweeter op, the Tampa,Fl. field office of the ATF only gave automatic weapons to the most murderous gang in the world, MS-13(google them to see what sweethearts our govt. was arming).

Gotta agree with Greta. The civil contempt proceedings should have been ready to file the next day. In the real world, where Greta spent some time doing actual lawyering, it would have been or heads would have been rolling. It isn’t rocket science, the initial filings only have to put the administration on notice of the basic nature of the claims, and it ought to be on file already.

novaculus on July 9, 2012 at 12:07 PM

Is it possible something else is going on, behind the scenes, to explain the delay? I admit it’s not easy for me to believe that incompetence alone deserves the credit…

Gotta agree with Greta. The civil contempt proceedings should have been ready to file the next day. In the real world, where Greta spent some time doing actual lawyering, it would have been or heads would have been rolling. It isn’t rocket science, the initial filings only have to put the administration on notice of the basic nature of the claims, and it ought to be on file already.

novaculus on July 9, 2012 at 12:07 PM

Is it possible something else is going on, behind the scenes, to explain the delay? I admit it’s not easy for me to believe that incompetence alone deserves the credit…

Bizarro No. 1 on July 9, 2012 at 1:15 PM

The contempt vote also allocated funding to hire a lawyer to take it to court, so I assume that’s in the process. Once you file, your filing isn’t processed instantly. Once it is you get a court date. Who knows when that will be. Friendly judge means next February.

Darrell Issa is a pitbull, once his jaws lock on something he don’t let go.

Because its potentially 100x more explosive than Brian Terry, if anyone ever bothered to investigate it.

Zapatas’ name is on a report investigating some murders where F&F guns were recovered.

He and his partners killing in Mexico looked like a ‘hit’, from the first second the news broke. They were just over the border, and were blockaded, run down and gunned down. Its was odd because that was not the drug gangs MO. Thats the last anything was ever said of that.

Because its potentially 100x more explosive than Brian Terry, if anyone ever bothered to investigate it.

Zapatas’ name is on a report investigating some murders where F&F guns were recovered.

He and his partners killing in Mexico looked like a ‘hit’, from the first second the news broke. They were just over the border, and were blockaded, run down and gunned down. Its was odd because that was not the drug gangs MO. Thats the last anything was ever said of that.

orbitalair on July 9, 2012 at 2:28 PM

I have run across posts where the possibility of him being set up was mentioned. No mention of evidence, but smoke –> fire…?